Remote working has become a permanent fixture for a lot of small businesses. For many teams it works brilliantly. But it does create IT and security challenges that simply didn’t exist when everyone was in the same office, on the same network, using the same devices. Here’s what to think about.
The home network problem
Your office network, if it’s been set up properly, has firewalls, managed Wi-Fi, and some level of control over what’s connected to it. A staff member’s home router almost certainly doesn’t.
Home routers are often running old firmware, using default passwords, and sharing a network with smart TVs, games consoles, and other devices that have nothing to do with work. That’s a much less controlled environment for your business data to be moving through.
You can’t control your employees’ home networks, but you can make sure the devices they’re using are properly secured so that the network they’re on matters less.
Personal devices are a real risk
Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, is common in small businesses because it keeps costs down. But when someone uses a personal laptop or phone for work, you lose a lot of visibility and control.
Personal devices are less likely to have the right security settings, less likely to be kept updated, and more likely to have other software installed that you know nothing about. If that device gets compromised, your business data can go with it.
Where possible, providing work devices that are properly managed is the cleaner approach. If BYOD is unavoidable, there are ways to put sensible controls in place without taking over someone’s personal device entirely.
What remote workers should have in place
- A work device that’s managed, updated, and encrypted
- Multi-factor authentication on all work accounts
- A strong, unique password for their home Wi-Fi router
- Awareness of phishing, remote workers can be more isolated and therefore more vulnerable
- Clear guidance on what to do if something seems wrong
What about public Wi-Fi?
Coffee shops, hotels, co-working spaces, public Wi-Fi is convenient, but it’s not private. Anyone on the same network can potentially see unencrypted traffic. For most modern cloud-based applications this risk is lower than it used to be, since they use HTTPS encryption. But it’s still worth being cautious.
If your team regularly works in public spaces, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) adds an extra layer of protection by encrypting their connection. We cover VPNs in more detail in a separate post.
Making remote work secure doesn’t have to be complicated
The good news is that with the right setup, remote working can be just as secure as being in the office. It just requires a bit of thought and the right tools in place from the start.
At Matthew Temple Consulting, we help small businesses set up and manage their IT in a way that works for remote and hybrid teams, without overcomplicating things or breaking the budget.
If your team works remotely and you’re not sure your IT setup is keeping up, let’s have a conversation.
